BRAIN DRAIN

My synapses seem to be on a go-slower of late. Let me count the ways.

1. I had two lapses in the message I sent to you on Tuesday:

a) As a rule I never show the entire list, partly because if it is lengthy, then you have scroll down to read the message.

b) I usually supply a link http://barrspot.blogspot.com and not a name barrspot.blogsot.com

2. Yesterday, a guy approached me near the Capitolio and, not behaving as a stranger, asked me about whether or not I had changed money and at what rate. I would have told any judge that I had never seen this guy in my life. But this morning, having just had a quick tour of the assembly building, I was the one who hailed him, now with a clear memory of who he is. He was the one who took me to get money changed on Wednesday, or was it Tuesday. To solicit a tip, he had told me that he drank coffee also. I had given him 1,000 Bolivares. Today, I gave him 5,000 Bolivares. Of course, afterwards I was wondering if I gave him 5,000 or was it 500?

3. After I purchased two books, one about the CIA in Venezuela, the other about Putas (Prostitutes) in Venezuela, and a pro-Chávez, red cap, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be $10 in my wallet. I know I am supposed to have $100 and began to search my brain to understand what I did with the $100. About half an hour later, when I got the opportunity to take another look, indeed, I still had the $100 bill.

Incidentally, I am too lazy to read a book in Spanish about prostitutes. It is for a friend who wrote a book about prostitutes in Brasil.

4. Yesterday, after about an hour and a half at the internet, I paid with a 20,000 Bolivar bill. He gave me two ten-thousand bills and continued to search for change. Somebody else with a working brain would have noticed that something was wrong, but I just had a sort of a puzzle bubbling up to the surface of my brain, when he reached and took back one of the 1,000 Bolivar notes from me before handing me the rest of the change. It bothers me that I wasn´t the one to point out the mistake.


THREE STRIKES YOU´RE OUT

After I left the internet cabina, I bought not one but two pineapples. Oh, what a wonderful aroma! Then I crossed the street and bought one kilo of grapes and a kilo of mangos(3).

It was with some anticipation that I ate a couple grapes. They were terrible.

Then I ate a few slices of pineapple. They weren´t sweet by any stretch of the imagination.

The mango didn´t bring me any satisfaction either.

Bummer.


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